Tropes Media Browse Indexes Forums Videos Ask The Tropers Trope Finder Media Finder Trope Launch Pad Tech Wishlist Reviews Tools
Cut List New Edits Edit Reasons Launches Images List Crowner Activity Un-typed Pages Recent Page Type Changes Changelog
Tips
Creating New Redirects Cross Wicking Tips for Editing Text Formatting Rules Glossary Edit Reasons Handling Spoilers Word Cruft Administrivia FAQ
Tropes HQ
About Us Contact Us Advertise DMCA Notice Privacy Policy Report Bug
Go Ad-Free Changelog
  • Show Spoilers
  • Night Vision
  • Sticky Header
  • Highlight Links
 

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Referenced By / Sesame Street

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sesame_street_american_dad.PNG
Good Morning, Sesame Street!

Given that Sesame Street is one of the longest-running and most popular kids' shows on American television, it should come as no surprise that it has been referenced and parodied in a wide plethora of media over its 50+ year existence.

    open/close all folders 

    Advertising 
  • A commercial for the Delta Touch 2.0 faucet features the "Hands" song as sung by Count von Count as the background music.
  • In a similar spirit, for some reason "The Song of the Count" underscored a Toyota commercial.
  • The Sesame Street Muppet characters have appeared alongside Daveed Diggs in commercials for the DoorDash food delivery service. A minute-long commercial is set to the updated version of "The People in Your Neighborhood", and the 30-second teaser features Cookie Monster and Diggs reading books in their apartment together before a large quantity of food (which of course, includes milk and cookies) is delivered to it.
  • Sesame Street Muppet characters have appeared in commercials for Farmers insurance tying in with the show's 50th anniversary. These include Grover unsuccessfully attempting to repair Mr. Johnson's water heater (resulting in the heater going off like a rocket and landing on Mr. Johnson's car), and Count von Count counting to One after finding his monocle, resulting in his riding mower being struck by lightning (It Makes Sense in Context).
  • Cookie Monster appears in a March 2016 commercial for the iPhone 6s called "Timer", in which he interacts with Siri. While baking cookies in a kitchen, he asks Siri to set a timer for his cookies. Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle" plays over the ad.
  • A 1997 commercial for K-Mart (most notably shown during the network broadcast premiere of Toy Story on ABC during the first night of the revival of The Wonderful World Of Disney) had the characters and Rosie O'Donnell sing about getting dressed, promoting a Sesame Street clothing line sold at the store.

    Anime & Manga 
  • Banana Fish: Ash Lynx teasingly tells Eiji Okumura that he should use Sesame Street to begin learning proper English.
  • Kodocha: Bert and Ernie can be found on a poster seen in episode 65.

    Audio Drama 
  • In the Big Finish Doctor Who story Dead Media, the Twelfth Doctor calls his episode of the St Luke's University podcast "The Monster at the End of This Podcast", saying this is a reference to a children's book which became the basis for a major religion.

    Comic Books 
  • A flashback in Zatanna shows her attempting to overcome her fear of puppets by doing a guest-spot on Sesame Street. She ends up vomiting into Oscar's trash can.

    Comic Strips 
For Better or for Worse
  • The December 16, 1980 strip has Uncle Phil playing his trumpet, only for Michael to complain he's drowning out Sesame Street.
  • The October 12, 1983 strip has Elizabeth watching TV while Elly is on the phone, she says she's "half-past Mr. Rogers..I'll be there a quarter to Sesame Street."
  • The August 30, 1981 strip has John turning off the TV to watch the news while the kids are watching the show (we see Big Bird on the screen)
  • The December 10, 1990 strip has Michael being asked to shovel the walk, and he tells John he's busy doing something which turns out to be watching the show. John is not amused and sends him outside.
  • In Stone Soup, Max is being babysat by Holly and Alix and isn't allowed to watch TV but wants to watch Sesame Street. Holly says to pretend she's Bert and Alix is Ernie.
  • In Baby Blues, Wanda and Darryl ask then 2-year old Zoe for suggestions for the name for the then-unnamed newborn Hammie. She suggests they name him Big Bird.

    Fan Works 
  • In Chapter 4 of After Yamiko, when Hibiki hears Yuko use a T-Word Euphemism instead of actually swearing, she tells her that she's not on Sesame Street and that she's allowed to swear. After they're asked to take it outside to prevent the toddlers present from learning bad words, Hana tells them that they respect Sesame Street in this house.
  • All the Roofs of Uncertainty: When Jason flippantly refers to Dick as "Big Bird" Tim almost smiles and Jason figures he probably watched Sesame Street as a toddler.

    Films - Animated 

    Films - Live-Action 
  • Elf: A bunch of Elmo plushies can be seen in the department store.
  • ET The Extraterrestrial:
    • Sesame Street plays on the TV long enough for two sketches to appear. The first is an animated sketch about the letter B that aids E.T. in learning how to speak. The second scene features Big Bird introducing Grover in the courtyard as he demonstrates two chin-ups. note  The audio that ends the scene, however, was taken from Episode 1364 to provide a more appropriate dialogue for the film: Big Bird observes a rocket ship and remarks, "I think it came from outer space," just as E.T. begins to communicate his desire to phone home.
    • During a scene in which E.T. is reading a coloring book in the closet, a Bert toy can be seen hanging on the wall behind him.
  • Forrest Gump: Forrest, Jr. watches Bert and Ernie on TV.
  • Jingle All the Way:
    • In the toy store scenes, toys of Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Zoe can be seen on the shelves.
    • There is a scene near the end with a large parade of famous cartoon characters and mascots. Bert and Ernie can be seen marching in the parade in a few shots.
  • Lethal Weapon (1987): When Murtaugh detains a six year old boy to get a description of a suspect, Riggs is dubious, claiming Murtaugh is going to end up putting out an APB on Big Bird because of what the kid says.
  • In Little Monsters (2019), Caroline sings "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon".
  • In The Little Rascals (1994), after Alfalfa and Spanky get into a feud after the former loses The Blur and the latter is revealed to have sabotaged the former's date with Darla which lead to their clubhouse burning down, Stymie tries to get the two to make up. He tells Spanky that he and Alfalfa are a team, like Bert and Ernie.
  • In Meet the Fockers, Greg turns on Elmo's World for Little Jack to watch while babysitting. He ends up getting ahold of the remote and changing the channel to Scarface (1983) while Greg isn't looking.
  • The Muppets:
    • The Muppet Movie: While en route to Hollywood, Kermit and Fozzie notice Big Bird walking down the highway and offer him a lift. He declines, saying he's on his way to New York City to "break into public television". Big Bird later appears, along with several other Sesame Street Muppets, in the "Rainbow Connection" finale.
    • The Great Muppet Caper: Oscar makes a cameo when Peter Ustinov lands next to his trash can.
    • The Muppets Take Manhattan: In the "I'm Gonna Always Love You" sequence, Baby Rowlf is playing doctor with a Big Bird doll. Later, several Sesame Street Muppets appear in the wedding finale.
    • Muppets Most Wanted: Constantine watches a "Reporter Kermit" sketch to get an idea on how to act like Kermit.
  • In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter calls the Vulture "Big Bird".

    Foodstuff 
  • An ice cream flavor with cookies inside it called Cookie Monster exists. To pay the homage further, it's often blue like the character it's named after.

    Literature 
  • In Harmony (2016), Alexandra compares her relationship with Josh to the "Near and Far" skit. Sometimes she feels like they're firmly united, and other times she feels like they're shouting across an empty purple space.
  • Pet Sematary: Louis Creed recalls Ellie Creed used to watch Sesame Street.
  • The Shining: Danny Torrance's reading capability is described as "prepared by four years of Sesame Street".
  • The World of Ice & Fire speaks of some distant ancestors of House Tully by the names of Grover, Elmo, Kermit, and Oscar.
  • Miracle Creek, In a flashback, five-year-old Henry wears Elmo swim trunks when his mother forces him into a portable sauna.
  • Eye Contact: After Adam's grandparents' funeral, he and Cara listen to a tape of Sesame Street songs.
  • In the Doctor Who Expanded Universe novel Winner Takes All, the Doctor tells Rose that Cookie Monster is actually an alien.
  • Starr from Orange Clouds, Blue Sky is a fan of Elmo and has a huge collection of Elmo memorabilia in her room.
  • Mindblind: When Nathaniel was three, a nurse tested his eyesight by holding up a picture of Elmo and asking, "What do you see?" Nathaniel instead read from a pamphlet behind the nurse. When the doctor asked Nathaniel for his name, he said, "Elmo."
  • In Small as an Elephant, Jack's mom whistles "Sunny Day."
  • Lily from Lily and Dunkin learned to read from Sesame Street. Her favorite character was Elmo.
  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid
    • In the first book, Manny watches the show while sitting on his potty. He just so happens to be watching "C Is For Cookie".
    • In "Rodrick Rules" Rowley invites the first graders from his karate class to a sleepover he has with Greg. Greg wants to sneak out and see some girls, but he comments the first graders are more interested in Sesame Street than they are in girls.
  • In Experimental Film, Clark sings the 'Play With Me Sesame'' theme song over and over again until Lois wants to dig up Jim Henson's corpse and punch it in the face.
  • In Real Mermaids Don't Sell Seashells, Jade watches Elmo to distract herself during a Plane Awful Flight.

    Live-Action TV 
  • ALF: In the series premiere, Brian and ALF watch an episode of Sesame Street together. Brian asks ALF, "Do you get Sesame Street where you live?", and ALF tells him, "No, and frankly, I don't get it here, either."
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer: In the third season episode "Bad Girls", Buffy and Faith find a pair of footprints at the grave site, and Buffy says they should attack on the count of three. Naturally, Faith jumps in before that, and while they manage to kill the vamp, it's not an easy kill, and Buffy gets upset at Faith for jumping in early. Faith points out they didn't have time to plan, to which Buffy replies, "The count of three isn't a plan, it's Sesame Street."
  • Farscape: In "Kansas", Aeryn tries to learn English from Sesame Street. She is shown watching the "ABC Cookie Monster" segment.
  • Full House:
    • In "Our Very First Night", Stephanie and D.J. sneak down to the kitchen and are confronted by uncle Jesse, who asks, "Aren't you supposed to be in bed dreaming about Tweety Bird or Big Bird or Larry Bird or something?"
    • In the cold open for "Pal Joey", DJ tells Michelle about cute boys, citing George Michael and Michael J. Fox, but Michelle warms up to Big Bird.
    • In "Tanner's Island", the family is toasting each other while on a seemingly deserted island, and Michelle says "Here's to Big Bird."
    • In "Divorce Court", Danny, Joey, and Jesse challenge each other to a race, and the winner gets to pick the losers' costumes for a Halloween carnival. Before the race, Joey tells Danny and Jesse that he's already decided on their costumes: "Big Bird, meet Snuffleupagus." Later on, Stephanie has second thoughts on sharing a room with Michelle, saying that "Living with Michelle is like A Nightmare on Sesame Street."
    • In "The Greatest Birthday on Earth", when Danny and Joey are preparing for Michelle's circus-themed birthday party as they hear the other young kids in the neighborhood arriving, Danny says "My birthday girl is at a gas station and my house is about to turn into Sesame Circus!"
    • In "Lust in the Dust", Michelle is eating a Popsicle. Jesse comes up behind her and says, "Michelle, look — Big Bird!" so he can steal a lick of the Popsicle while she's not looking.
    • In "Three Men and Another Baby," the prologue has Michelle claiming to Danny and Joey that there's a monster in her closet. When Joey reminds her that they've told her that monsters aren't real, Michelle says, "Uh-uh, there's a Cookie Monster." Joey explains, "The Cookie Monster is not a real monster; he's just a sugar freak who got stuck with a scary last name."
    • In the prologue to "Our Very First Telethon", Michelle puts her hand over Danny's eyes and says "Daddy, guess who?" Danny asks "is it Big Bird?"
    • In "Viva Las Joey", Michelle comes to Jesse claiming that she has an "owie". When asked where it is, she points to her arm and says, "Right here. I need a Big Bird [bandage]."
    • In "The Hole in the Wall Gang", Stephanie is teased by D.J. that she's "just a child" and should stick to watching Sesame Street instead of trying to be like her teenage sister. Stephanie says she can't because it's not on until 4'o clock.
    • In "Rock the Cradle", Jesse finds out that his wife, Becky, is pregnant. Michelle talks to Jesse about the baby, asking if it will be a boy or a girl. When Jesse says that he doesn’t know yet, Michelle suggests that he name the baby Big Bird, which Jesse goes along with for awhile. In the same episode, Michelle's only attempt at Playing Pictionary uses Big Bird as the answer every time.
    • In "Happy Birthday, Babies", when Michelle asks how long two-and-a-half hours is (as that's when her birthday party), Jesse tells her, "Two Sesame Streets and a Mister Rogers."
    • In "Driving Miss D.J.," in order to keep Michelle out of her room, Stephanie makes up a story about a Hairy Scary Monster lurking around. Michelle asks if he is friendly, like Cookie Monster. Stephanie says that he "scares the Cookie Monster".
    • In "Fast Friends", when Becky's twin sons Nicky and Alex go through the grocery bags eating cookies, Becky says to them "You little cookie monsters!" Later, D.J.'s best friend Kimmy calls Jesse and Joey "Bert and Ernie".
    • In "The Day of the Rhino", a Barney-like orange rhinoceros named Rigby the Rhino mentions at one part that he is going to play racquetball with Big Bird.
    • In "Stephanie’s Wild Ride", Stephanie jokes to Kimmy, "By the way, Big Bird called; he wants his legs back" (referring to Kimmy’s tall, skinny legs).
  • Fuller House:
    • In "Uncle Jesse's Adventures in Babysitting", Jesse tells D.J. and Stephanie that he has had enough of trying to raise children, and says they can have his adoptive daughter Pamela. He tells them that "she likes Elmo and Chance the Rapper."
    • In "Fullers in a Fog," Max moans how he can't see his love interest Rose, and claims their love is forbidden, just like Bert and Ernie.
    • In the New Years' Eve Countdown video for 2018-2019, Fernando says his New Years' resolution is to be able to learn how to count backwards in English, "like the Count on Sesame Street."
  • The Good Night Show: In the Season 4 episode about dress up, Nina teaches her Sproutlet friends a Super Grover stretch.
  • MADtv:
    • During the last few years of the show, Sesame Street was often parodied, and said parodies dealt with such kid-unfriendly topics as the Avian Flu, childhood obesity, plastic surgery, America's economic decline, sexual predators on the internet, radiation poisioning, and Donald Trump's greed (the last of which was in fact, officially targeted in Sesame Street's 25th anniversary special, Stars and Street Forever! with parody character Ronald Grump).
    • During the 2006 holiday season, there was a Parody Commercial for the "Tickle Me Emo" doll, Elmo's tortured, angst-ridden counterpart who always cries, curses the world for being too depressing, and whines and moans that no one understands him.
  • On The Martin Short Show, Martin tries to get on a Captain Ersatz version of Barney & Friends. His agent tells him he can instead get him on Sesame Street with "that big bird...what's his name?"
  • In an episode of The Middle, Mike and Frankie remember the kids when they were little listening to Sesame Sreet tapes in the car including "I Don't Want To Live On The Moon" sung by Elmo. Frankie corrects Mike that it was Ernie who sang that.
  • The Partridge Family: In "Guess Who's Coming to Drive?" Reuben is arrested and tries to call the family from the police station. When Tracy answers the phone, he tells her to tell Shirley where he is, but she hangs up so she can go back to watching Big Bird.
  • In the Saved by the Bell: The College Years episode "A Question of Ethics", Screech briefly sings the theme song while taking his trash out.
  • Shining Time Station:
    • In "Two Old Hands", the item that Matt receives in the mail is a Sesame Street magazine with Bert and Ernie featured prominently on the cover.
    • In "Mr. Conductor's Movie," Stacy tells Schemer he should wait until he knows what the director needs. Schemer's response is this:
    Schemer: Little lady, let me tell you what the director needs; he needs a star name because star names sell tickets! John Wayne, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Big Bird, and now Super Schemer!
  • The Sunny Side Up Show
    • Dennisha and Chica dress up as The Count for Numbers Week.
    • The characters have also made guest appearances from time to time over the years.
      • Big Bird appeared in a preview video for the show in 2007.
      • Prairie Dawn appeared for Valentine's Day 2008.
      • Oscar the Grouch appeared for Earth Day 2008 and Oscar Weekend in 2014 and 2015.
      • Grover/Super Grover appeared for New Year's 2009.
      • Elmo appeared for the holidays in 2009, 2010, and 2011. He and Cookie Monster also appeared to promote The Furchester Hotel in 2016.
      • Abby Cadabby appeared in January 2012.
  • Supernatural titled a particularly Postmodern episode "The Monster at the End of This Book" after the particularly Postmodern Sesame Street book.
  • The season 3 premiere of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has a B plot about Titus auditioning for Sesame Street. It doesn't go well.
  • In one episode of Victorious, Cat tried to sing the Sesame Street theme song, but got interrupted.

    Professional Wrestling 

    Puppet Shows 
  • Big Bag:
    • In "The Birthday Blah", when Chelli decides to throw a party for Sophie's birthday, he says that a birthday without a party would be like Bert without "that orange guy".
    • Elmo appears in "Elmo's Visit", wherein he is revealed to be Chelli's pen pal.
  • Dinosaurs: In "Georgie Must Die!" one of the signs in Georgie's studio reads, "Says Me St.".
  • The Jim Henson Hour: When Digit has a case of "the reruns" causing him to speak in shout outs, at one point he says "Today's show is brought to you by the letter—".
  • The Muppet Show:
    • In the episode that guest starred Julie Andrews, a poster advertising an "8 Feet Tall Yellow Canary" can be seen.
    • In another episode, a poster reads: "NOTICE — TRY-OUTS FOR DANCING PIGEONS Must be able to do the buck and wing — Contact Bert of S.S.".
    • Look closely in the Crystal Gale episode and you can see an issue of the Sesame Street magazine on the backstage wall before it gets stolen by prairie dogs.
    • In the Marty Feldman episode, they parody Arabian Nights. When they say, "Open sesame!", a bunch of Sesame Street characters walk out. Later, Feldman and Cookie Monster compare googly eyes.
    • In the Lena Horne episode, Ms. Horne and the Muppets sing "Sing", and before they do, Ms. Horne brings up Sesame Street, saying it's where the song originated.
    • Ernie and Bert guest star in the Connie Stevens episode. In it, Bert feels out of place on a big-time variety show, and is afraid they'll expect him to do an act on the show. Ernie believes that Bert can do an act, and that all he needs is the right clothes. Ernie takes Bert offstage, and returns only when Bert is decked out in the most elegant attire. It changes Bert completely, and he immediately starts to sing "Some Enchanted Evening", culminating with him dancing with and serenading Connie Stevens. At the end of the song, Bert is certain he's just made a complete fool of himself, a fact which Ernie confirms.
    • Big Bird guest stars in the Leslie Uggams episode, where he meets some of the show's cast while wandering around the theater, throwing a wrench between Gonzo and Camilla in the process.
    • In the Sex and Violence unaired pilot, where Nigel is the host, Kermit's only appearance is in the "At the Dance" sketch, asking his partner if she's interested in breaking into children's television.
  • In the Pee-wee's Playhouse epsiode, "Camping Out", the food in Pee-wee's refrigerator is seen watching a clip from Episode 2615 of Sesame Street.

    Video Games 
  • In Infinite Craft, Sesame Street, Elmo, and Cookie Monster are all possible crafting recipes.
  • The Last Ninja has "Bert" and "Ernie" listed as the names in the top two slots of the high score screen.
  • 123 Slaughter Me Street is an indie horror game that is a direct parody of Sesame Street, where Tim Denson is hunted by packs of murderous Muppet-like monsters.
  • Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver features two Bird Keeper trainers named Bert and Ernie located on Route 20. If one goes a little further down the same route, they'll encounter a Swimmer trainer named Elmo.

    Web Comics 
  • Sheldon:
    • Here Sheldon and Arthur watch the show and praise how the show pretends to be sponsored by a letter. Meanwhile, across town...
      W: Sesame Street? It's W. Let's seal the deal.
    • Big Bird intrigues Arthur due to his large size.
      Arthur: Big Bird! My liege! Command me!
    • This strip features a sippy cup with Grover on it.
    • One series has Sheldon and Arthur freaking out because proof has been discovered that the Velociraptor was covered with feathers ("They look like big doofuses in my mind!" Sheldon claims). Then they start to wonder if ALL dinosaurs had feathers... and Sheldon starts to wonder what a T-Rex would look like with feathers. We are then treated to a picture of Big Bird. The next strip has Sheldon imagining Big Bird "fighting" a triceratops.
    • Arthur goes into a speech about how somewhere there's a chemist whose sole job is to think about wood stain.
      Arthur: Life: it's interesting.
      Gramp: Thank you, Sesame Street.
    • This strip has Sheldon and Arthur discussing the urban legend of Cookie Monster not eating cookies anymore in order to reverse childhood obesity.
  • One Shortpacked! strip illustrates the effect of Transformers conventions making non-Hasbro toys illicit goods by showing a Muppet version of Ethan get accosted by Lefty the Salesman. The hotel room where the deal will actually take place is "Room 1233", riffing on the Sesame Street brownstone being number 123.
  • In one El Goonish Shive strip, Nanase's little sister Akiko tells her dad she only wants one cookie because "Cookies are a sometimes food!" This refers to a song by Hoots the Owl and Cookie Monster.
  • During the Empire of Blood's parade in The Order of the Stick, one of the floats features the Sanguine Avenue puppets: Felix the Mensch (a friendly-looking version of Oscar who lives in a flower pot), Hurt and Burnie (a version of Bert who looks badly injured, and a version of Ernie threatening him with a fireball) and Little Roc (because Roc Birds are much bigger than even Big Bird).

    Web Original 

    Western Animation 
  • The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3: In "Sneaky Lying Cheating Giant Ninja Koopas", Prince Hugo the Huge's Royal Parrot mentions having a poster of Big Bird in his cage.
  • American Dad!:
    • At the beginning of "Francine's Flashback", Stan is shown yelling "Shoot him!!" at the TV, which is revealed to be showing an episode of Sesame Street.
      Stan: Don't trust him! He just pretends to eat cookies, but he never swallows anything!
    • The newspaper gag for "Stannie Get Your Gun" reads "BIG BIRD DEAD OF BIG AVIAN FLU".
    • In "Iced, Iced Babies", Francine gets depressed over Steve "breaking up" with her and watches an expy of '"Sesame Street'' they used to watch together.
    • In "Pulling Double Booty", Stan poses as his body double Bill, who was supposed to go on a date with Hayley; when she suggests to "Bill" that they get into a threesome with a waitress, Stan sadly mutters "You used to watch Sesame Street."
    • In "Lincoln Lover", Greg dances with Bert and Ernie during a song number promoting the Log Cabin Republicans.
    • In "A Piñata Named Desire", Barry shouts "There's a person inside Big Bird!".
    • In "Stannie Boy and Frantastic", Francine imitates Cookie Monster's "Om-nom-nom..."
  • Amphibia: In "Hollywood Hop Pop", a man is seen dressed as a purple Elmo-like monster, referencing the knockoff costumed characters known to frequent Hollywood Boulevard.
  • Animaniacs (1993): In "Draculee Dracula", upon meeting Count Dracula, Yakko asks the vampire "Didn't you used to teach math on Sesame Street?", a reference to the Dracula-esque Count von Count.
  • In the Arthur episode "Jenna's Bedtime Blues", Jenna is watching TV and sees a show with wacky monsters talking about the letter P.
  • Bob's Burgers: In "Bad Tina", one of Tina's romance fanfictions is called "Sexy Sesame Street".
  • Dog City: In "Doggy See, Doggy Do", Ace and Rosie pursue Bugsy disguised as Bernie the Big Pink St. Bernard at a TV studio. One of the sets they pass by is the one for "See Samoyed Street".
  • Drawn Together: In "Little Orphan Hero", Spanky, Clara, Foxxy and Ling-Ling start a suicide hotline and start acting like the "Yip-Yip" Martians when the phone rings.
  • The Fairly Oddparents:
    • In the Made-for-TV Movie, Channel Chasers, one of the TV shows featured is Poppyseed Avenue, which depicts puppet versions of Timmy, Adult Timmy, Cosmo, Wanda, and Vicky, and is brought to you by the letter V.
    • In the episode, "Odd Pirates", as the town baseball team, The pirates, is playing, a real pirate runs around saying nothing but "Arrrr". He passes by two Sesame Street-type monsters who are holding up the letters Q and R, and takes the R from the latter.
  • Family Guy:
    • At the beginning of "I Never Met the Dead Man", Stewie plays with a Sesame Street phone.
    • In "Mind Over Murder", Peter complains that all the TV shows are "starting to run together" and watches Homicide: Life on Sesame Street.
      Announcer: This show contains adult content and is brought to you by the letter H.
    • In "I Am Peter, Hear Me Roar", Lois and Gloria knock down the chef from the classic number films during their catfight, causing him to drop his banana-cream pies.
    • In "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Bucks", Meg tries out one of her bird calls and attracts an aggravated Big Bird, who complains how much of a hassle it is to get around the city.
    • In "Family Guy Viewer Mail #1", Peter and Brian watch Sesame Street, leading to a conversation where Peter asks if the Count ever sucked someone's blood.
    • In "Ready, Willing and Disabled", Peter mispronounces Valerie Bertinelli's name as "Bert-and-Ernie".
    • In "Petarded", Peter lets seven prostitutes into Cleveland's house and are counted off like in the classic number films.
    • In "Model Misbehavior", Stewie uses a Sesame Street phone when he becomes a business executive, leading to a cutaway showing Cookie Monster in rehab for his cookie addiction. A little later, Lois catches him in a bathroom stall trying to freebase a spoonful of cookie dough.
    • A cutaway from "The Father, the Son and the Holy Fonz" shows Stewie (who is in a disinfectant bubble) being launched from a pinball machine into the familiar countdown skit.
    • In "Peterotica", Babs is shown giving Ted Turner Sesame Street toys to play with in the bathtub. He refuses to let Ernie in because "Ernie doesn't like the monsters".
    • In "Believe It or Not, Joe's Walking on Air", Big Bird's legs are shown on Joe during a simulation on what he'll be like following a leg transplant.
    • At the end of "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven", it's revealed that the entire Family Guy universe exists within a lamp in a room shared by Adam West and Rob Lowe; their room is modeled after Bert and Ernie's.
    • In "Go Stewie Go", the American version of Jolly Farm Revue features a parody of the Sesame Street set and characters.
    • A cutaway from "April in Quahog" shows Grover being nominated for an Academy Award thanks to Peter overstuffing the ballots.
    • A cutaway from "Partial Terms of Endearment" shows Meg going on a date with the Count, who leaves her after counting three nipples.
    • In "Road to the North Pole", Stewie, after Brian tells him that Santa Claus isn't real, sarcastically asks him if Elmo isn't real.
    • In "Back to the Pilot", Stewie worries that, in the alternate timeline Brian wrought, Cookie Monster could have created Facebook.
    • In "Be Careful What You Fish For", Billy Finn tells Peter that he can't see his penis and compares it to Mr. Snuffalupagus.
    • A cutaway from "Brian's Play" shows Stewie being the HR director for The Muppets, talking to Beaker about him making meth and selling it to Big Bird.
    • In "Baking Bad", Cookie Monster gives Peter and Lois a loan to open a cookie store. At the end, he happily takes back the loan in exchange for the store.
    • In "A Lot Going on Upstairs", Stewie uses the power of his dreams to turn himself into Elmo.
    • In "The Peter Principal", Peter and Lois watch an episode of Sesame Street following its move to HBO.
    • In "Nanny Goats", Peter refers to Bradley Cooper as "Hooper".
    • A cutaway from "The D in Apartment 23" shows Meg playing Oscar the Grouch in a one-woman show. Peter criticizes her performance, but Oscar himself finds the play excellent.
    • In "Dog Bites Bear", Peter goes to buy groceries and imitates the "I Can Remember" skit, only to get the list mixed up.
    • In "The Woof on Wall Street", Stewie calls out Brian for "becoming a monster". Herry, Elmo, and Cookie Monster show up to point out how offensive that is towards actual monsters. Brian then claims that Elmo was sleeping with a minor, poking fun at the scandal that led to former performer Kevin Clash's resignation from Sesame Street.
    • In "Connie's Celica", Peter accuses Lois of using his Elmo toothbrush.
    • In "Pawtucket Pat", a parody of 30 for 30 suggests that Oscar the Grouch was responsible for the Houston Astros World Series scandal.
    • In "Boy's Best Friend", Peter accidentally runs over Oscar the Grouch with Joe's car. As he dies, his last words are "Tell my ex-wife...to go fuck herself". Peter agrees that it's on brand for him.
    • In "Customer of the Week", Stewie mentions he's been playing Elmo's AB Cs on Peter's bathroom iPad.
    • In "Meg Goes to College", Peter asks Meg to read a recommendation letter to Brown University in Big Bird's voice. The letter in question asks why you never see Grover and Super Grover at the same time. Peter also brings up Ryan Reynolds's guest appearance from Episode 4225.
    • In "HBO-No", during their Succession parody, Peter declares that Big Bird should run the family business now that he's on HBO.
    • In "Supermarket Pete", Peter mentions his support of the "Blue Lives Matter" movement, but in his words it's "not for cops, but for Grover".
  • Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends:
    • In "Cookie Dough", Frankie, while chowing down on Madame Foster's cookies, is crazily shouting "COOKIE! COOKIE! COOKIE! ME LOVE COOKIES!"
    • In "Bloo's the Boss", Bloo decides to start his own home for imaginary friends when he becomes jealous of the fame and attention that Madame Foster has recieved for her rescue of an imaginary friend. Bloo tries to prove to Mac that his foster home is real by playing with a monster-like puppet, which he names "Purple". The puppet resembles a noseless Elmo with purple fur.
  • Garfield and Friends: One post-opening sequence line was, "Today's show is brought to you by the letter K and the number 9."
  • The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy:
    • In "It's Hokey Mon!", Two kids in an alley are playing with HokeyMon! (a parody of Pokémon) cards. One card has a creature named "Snuffleups", a parody of Mr. Snuffleupagus.
    • In "Scythe For Sale", Billy opens a dumpster and a parody version of Oscar the Grouch pops out of it, yelling "Get outta my house!". A car then crashes into the dumpster. The guy in the car and "Oscar" start telling kids it's wrong to play with scythes and are backed up by a parody of the Sesame Street theme music.
    • In "Tween Wolf", Irwin is walking through the street on the way to the store, repeating from the Sesame Street cartoon: "Loaf of bread, container of milk, stick of butter..."
  • Johnny Bravo:
    • In the episode, "Super Duped", Johnny Bravo is walking through the street to get groceries for his mother, repeating from the Sesame Street cartoon: "Loaf of bread, container of milk, stick of butter..."
    • The episode, "The Hunk at the End of This Cartoon" is a parody of The Monster at the End of This Book, a Sesame Street Golden Book. Johnny believes that the cartoon's title must naturally refer to him, but ultimately it is revealed that the hunk was a hunk of cheese. The same episode has the following exchange, spoofing Sesame Street's tradition of being sponsored by letters:
      Johnny Bravo: Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a BEVY of BEAUTIES BEGGIN for some BRAVO. (To camera) That sentence was brought to you by the letter B.
      Little Suzy: Oh, BROTHER.
  • Muppet Babies (1984):
    • In "The Daily Muppet", a clip featuring Oscar the Grouch is shown during the title song.
    • At the beginning of "This Little Piggy Went to Hollywood", the babies watch a TV special on Hollywood that showcased still photo of stars, including Bert and Ernie.
    • In "Junkyard Muppets," Baby Fozzie attempts to open a cave with the phrase, "Open Sesame Street!"
    • In "Bug-Busting Babies", the babies become bug exterminators and set out to recruit members for the team. Their first recruit is Kermit the Frog, who they find working at a diner off of Sesame Street.
    • "Gonzee's Playhouse Channel" features a parody of Sesame Street, called "Sesame Seed Boulevard". Highlights include Kermit's attempts to teach viewers about the letter B, Fozzie in the role of "Big Joke", Animal appearing in a trashcan like Oscar the Grouch, and Kermit and Scooter using paper bags in the respective roles of Kert and Bernie.
    • In "Get Me to the Perch on Time", Gonzo and Fozzie are trying to find a missing penguin in the arctic. They decide to put his picture up on their blimp board, but Fozzie includes an image of Big Bird instead.
  • Muppet Babies (2018): In "No Takesies Backsies", when Piggy takes her old bracelet back from Rozzie, the other babies find it has gone missing. A logo resembling the Sesame Street News Flash logo then appears onscreen, and Kermit, now dressed in a trenchcoat, says that he told his mom that he didn't like raisins before reporting on the bracelet's disappearance.
  • My Life as a Teenage Robot: In "Puppet Bride", one of Mrs. Wakeman's old creations, a robot puppet named Li'l Acorn, seeks revenge. His army of puppet minions includes Bernie and Ert, who he points to as an example of having that special someone (with the Ernie counterpart showing his affection).
  • The New Scooby-Doo Movies: In the episode with Josie and the Pussycats, Melody says of the vessel the gang follows into the cave, "He didn't even say, 'Open, Sesame Street'!"
  • The Powerpuff Girls (1998):
    • In "The Rowdyruff Boys," Bubbles smashes through a grocery store window. The elderly clerk asks her if she's all right. She replies, "Yeah, I'm all right. Sorry about your window, Mr. Looper," and the clerk shouts, "It's Cooper! Cooper!".
    • In The Powerpuff Girls Movie, when the girls are walking past the TV store, the news shows a logo very similar to the Sesame Street News Flash title card. The logo was seen again in "The Pee Pee G's."
    • In the series' 10th anniversary special, "The Powerpuff Girls Rule!", the song, "None Some All" is referenced when all the villains attack Townsville. The announcer yells, "All the villains! And all the bratty ones, and all the fuzzy ones and all the icky ones and sticky ones and all the scary ones and all the villains are...", then Mojo Jojo replies, "One of us is not here!"
  • Robot Chicken:
    • A sketch from "Book of Corrine" features Big Bird getting quarantined after catching the Bird Flu.
    • A sketch from "Endless Breadsticks" features puppets resembling Elmo and Grover, only for one of the puppeteers to suffer a stroke during filming.
    • A sketch from "Maurice is Caught" features Kermit the Frog being upstaged by his cousin, Gordon Gecko.
    • A sketch from "Major League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" features Cookie Monster invading the home of the Keebler Elves.
    • A sketch from "Eviscerated Post-Cital by a Six Foot Mantis" features Oscar getting a new neighbor in the form of Ricky Recycling Bin, who at first acts as a friendly foil, but soon becomes as grouchy as Oscar when people continue to neglect proper recycling procedures.
    • A sketch from "Choked on a Bottle Cap" features a father explaining to his son what computer cookies are, only for Cookie Monster to barge in and unsuccessfully attempt to eat the laptop.
    • A sketch from "Secret of the Booze" features Ernie moving out of his and Bert's apartment, and Bert getting a new roommate named Sam, whom he found on Craigslist.
    • A sketch from "Legion of Super-Gyros" features Hannah Horvath visiting Sesame Street and disgusting Grover with her disgusting habits.
    • A sketch from "El Skeletorito" features Big Bird laying an egg, frightening some nearby children as a result.
    • A sketch from "Victoria's Secret of NIMH" features The Count inviting Alex to a rave party, wherein it is revealed that he has turned all of Sesame Street into vampires.
    • A sketch from "Chipotle Miserables" features Super Grover unsuccessfully attempting to save Sesame Street from Doomsday.
    • A sketch from "3 2 1 2 3 3 3, 2 2 2, 3...6 6?" features a young child playing with a Tickle Me Elmo doll and getting confused when it asks to have its nipples licked.
    • A sketch from "Why Is It Wet?" features a group of homeless people huddled around a bonfire in Oscar's trash can.
    • A sketch from "Jew No. 1 Opens a Treasure Chest" has Super Grover's corpse lay on the street, having been struck by lightning (due to his helmet). Elmo is the only one to realize his true identity.
    • A sketch from "Snoopy Camino Lindo in: Quick and Dirty Squirrel Shot" features an Elmo doll with tourette's syndrome as one of the inhabitants of The Island of Recalled Toys.
    • A sketch from "Molly Lucero in: Your Friend's Boob" has Bert teach Ernie the different meanings of the word "Gay" when they get honored on Pride Day. Ernie then plays with his Rubber Duckie and a plunger, which Grover and Cookie Monster mistake for gay sex when they listen from outside the apartment door.
    • A sketch from "May Cause Light Cannibalism" involves Cookie Monster as "Mr. Cookie", a landlord who kicks Linda out of her apartment when she is unable to pay her rent. When Linda calls Cookie a monster, he tells her, "Me know, Me know."
    • A sketch from "May Cause Season 11 to End" involves Cookie Monster visiting a website that asks him to accept cookies. Cookie accepts, only to find out that computer cookies aren't real cookies, and he accidentally breaks his computer out of frustration.
  • The Simpsons:
    • In "Brother from the Same Planet", Homer notices a dumpster-dwelling bum and says "Heh-heh, just like Oscar the Grouch".
    • In "Trash of the Titans", Oscar makes a cameo during the "Garbage Man" musical number.
    • In "Missionary Impossible", Homer tries to evade a mob of PBS personalities when he makes a fake donation; Big Bird appears swooping down and screeching like a bird of prey, then Oscar's trash can gets thrown through the church window.
      Oscar: Give us the money!
      Elmo: Elmo knows where you live!
    • In "Moe Baby Blues", Moe, who is babysitting Maggie, comments "You can't tickle Elmo no more". When he tries to tickle the doll, it says "No means no for Elmo!" and slaps him.
    • In "Bart-Mangled Banner", Elmo is among the liberal celebrities bring held at the Ronald Reagan Re-education Center; he later hangs himself in his cel.
    • In "The Girl Who Slept Too Little", Marge acts surprisingly xenophobic towards the Count ("Go back to your own country!").
    • In "Stop or My Dog Will Shoot", Chief Wiggum reveals he likes to knit violent imagery and holds up a sweater depicting Big Bird putting Elmo on a Conveyor Belt o' Doom.
    • In "Funeral for a Fiend", Moe tries to chase a family van to watch movies playing inside them; on the screen is a Sesame Street movie with Grover hanging out with Derek Jeter.
    • In "Dial N for Nerder", Maggie plays poker online and switches to an Elmo computer game when she thinks the family may be watching her.
    • In "Eeny Teeny Maya Moe", costumed versions of Big Bird, Elmo and The Count are impatiently waiting for Sesame Street on Ice to start when a hockey game goes into overtime.
    • In "The Color Yellow", Ralph's presentation for Black History Month goes like this: "Martin Luther King [Jr.] had a dream. Dreams are where Elmo and Toy Story had a party and I went there!"
    • In "To Surveil with Love", Marge and Maggie look at various monitors hooked up to security cameras around town and believe one of them is showing Sesame Street, but it is actually showing the inside of a gay bar (complete with people resembling Oscar, Big Bird, Bert and Ernie).
    • In "Friends and Family", Mr. Burns' trophy collection features a parody of Big Bird's head.
    • In "Frink Gets Testy", Homer notices a banner for Sesame Street on Ice and wonders why Oscar would still wear his trash can when skating.
    • In the "Treehouse of Horror XXXI" segment, "Toy Gory", one of Bart's toys is a "Tickled-out Elmo".
  • South Park:
    • In "Ike's Wee Wee", Ike frequently utters "Cookie Monster" amid his various nonsensical burbling.
    • In "Spontaneous Combustion", Cartman has been crucified on a Christian cross as part of the boys' adaptation of the biblical event. As Cartman calls for help, Officer Barbrady walks by going "Noo-ne-noo-ne-noo" like The Typewriter. He notices Cartman on the cross, and observes "T ... T is for turtle.".
    • In "Chef Goes Nanners", The town is debating about changing their flag. In one scene, Ned and Jimbo try to blend in at a KKK meeting, where the members are playing "Who's Got the Silliest Thing On Under Their Robe?" One of the members has a Big Bird outfit under his robe.
    • In "Do the Handicapped Go to Hell?", After Ike finishes reading Cannery Row by John Steinbeck, he shouts, "Cookie Monster!".
    • In "Wing", at Sylvester Stallone's son's wedding (and during the closing credits), Chinese singer Wing sings the song "Sing".
    • In "Hell on Earth 2006", at Satan's party, one of his demonic henchmen wears an Elmo costume with the words "Tickle Me" on the stomach.
    • In Part 3 of the "Imaginationland" trilogy, Oscar the Grouch is among the characters participating in the final battle of good and evil.
    • In "Black Friday", the "Stop Touching Me Elmo" doll is advertised, satirizing the scandal that caused Kevin Clash to resign from Sesame Street.
  • Tiny Toon Adventures: In the short "Once Upon a Star" from the episode "Toon Physics", Elmyra's Barbette doll complains about having to wear doll clothes and demands designer clothes, leading to this tirade:
    Barbette: You twit! Labels like Chanel, not Mattel! Fabergé, not Fisher-Price! Fashions from Paris, not Sesame Street!
  • Total Drama: In Severe Eggs and Pains, Ripper references a Big Bird character in a show he watched as a kid. Unfortunately for him, most of his cast mates don't seem to remeber the show.

Previous

Index

Next

  • Show Spoilers
  • Night Vision
  • Sticky Header
  • Wide Load

Important Links

Ask The Tropers Trope Finder Media Finder Trope Launch Pad Tech Wishlist Reviews Go Ad Free!
Crucial Browsing
Resources
Top